Today, a user may receive services from a variety of service providers, such as broadcast television networks, cable television networks, digital satellite systems, and internet service providers. Most television receivers are capable of receiving unscrambled information or programs directly from broadcast and cable networks. Cable networks providing scrambled (or encrypted) programs usually require a separate stand alone set-top box to descramble (or decrypt) the program. Similarly, digital satellite systems usually provide scrambled programs that also require the use of a separate set-top box. These set-top boxes may utilize a removable smart card which contain the keys necessary for recovering the scrambling or descrambling keys. Protection of these important keys is paramount to prevent unauthorized copying of the programming.
European Patent Application Number EP-A-0 658 054 discloses generating a descrambling key using two places of transmitted data.